Chapter 424 - 422: The First Batch of Orders (Second Update)

Chapter 424: Chapter 422: The First Batch of Orders (Second Update)

This matter was mentioned to her by Xiao Yi last night.

But Xu Jing had actually predicted this for some time.

Madam Cen was slightly taken aback, couldn’t help but smile and said, "I overthought it; you’re unlike the average woman, there’s no need for us to worry.

In this way, perhaps you won’t be any less busy than Yanci in the future."

During their conversation, the generals on the city walls came down as well.

The families waiting at the foot of the wall immediately crowded around them, vying for one last moment to say a few words to them.

Before Madam Cen took her family over, she smiled and said, "You and Chang Xiao should hurry over now, Yanci is waiting for you."

However, the truth is, Xu Jing had said all she needed to say to Xiao Yi last night.

Xu Jing led Xiao Huai’an over to Xiao Yi, thought for a moment, and said: "I already packed your luggage last night and had Cheng Xiao hand it over to Xiang You. It’s my first time packing for your long journey. Although Shen and Xianyun helped, I’m not sure if anything is missing. If you lack anything, just write back, and I’ll have someone send it to you."

This time, Xiang You will be accompanying Xiao Yi on the expedition.

Xiao Yi bent down, picked Xiao Huai’an up, and looked deeply at Xu Jing, "Alright, thank you for your hard work, madam."

"You don’t need to worry too much about me and Chang Xiao. You know, I can always take good care of myself and Chang Xiao; you just take care of yourself."

"Alright."

"I know that war is tough, and it’s not like you can rest whenever you want, but don’t push yourself too hard. Taking care of your own health is most important."

"Alright."

Xu Jing racked her brains to say every cautionary word she could think of, but she truly couldn’t think of any more.

Seeing the man in front of her just smiling slightly and waiting for her to say more, she couldn’t help but get a little exasperated and glared at him, "Don’t you have anything to say to us?"

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but laugh.

She remained as impatient as ever.

It seemed difficult to coax more words of concern from her.

He suddenly leaned over gently, kissed Xu Jing’s forehead, and said, "Jing, you and Chang Xiao should take care. I’ll write letters home regularly."

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of a rallying horn called out from afar.

Xiao Yi handed the little one in his arms back to Xu Jing, took one last affectionate look at them, and then turned around and strode away.

What followed was not something these families could partake in.

In the end, Xu Jing held Xiao Huai’an and stood at the city gate with Madam Cen and the others, seeing Xiao Yi and his men mount their horses and rapidly advance to the front of the army. Soon, their figures disappeared into the seemingly endless ranks of the troops, never to be seen again.

Some of the soldiers’ families nearby couldn’t help but cry softly.

But more people, like Madam Cen and her family, watched the army’s gradual departure with resolute expressions.

For many born into military families, they had long been accustomed to such farewells, and knew how to bury their worries and reluctance deep inside, so as not to worry those about to depart.

At the moment of Xiao Yi’s departure, Xiao Huai’an’s eyes reddened again, and he buried his head deeply in Xu Jing’s embrace.

The parting emotions that had been momentarily overshadowed by the soldiers’ fervor finally came rushing back.

Xu Jing looked amusingly at the ostrich-like little one, gently patted his back, bid farewell to Madam Cen and the others, and got into the carriage to go home.

Xiao Huai’an didn’t speak on their journey home, but Xu Jing could feel that a patch on her shoulder had quietly gotten wet.

She didn’t offer any words of comfort to the little one, just continued gently patting his back, letting him express his emotions freely.

Xianyun mentioned before that no matter how aggrieved the young lord was earlier, he would never cry in front of them. He would only secretly bury his grief or cry under the covers.

The fact that he was willing to cry in front of her now was already a huge improvement.

It wasn’t until the carriage stopped that the little ostrich finally lifted his head, rubbed his slightly red eyes, and asked, "Mom, are we home?"

Xu Jing laughed softly and said, "Yes, today we’ll have a good rest. Tomorrow, we’ll start packing our bags."

Packing our bags?

Xiao Huai’an asked with hopeful anticipation, "Mom, why are we packing? Are we going to find Dad?"

Xu Jing was taken aback, couldn’t help but smile, gently flicked his forehead, and said, "Dad just left, and you already want to find him? I mentioned packing because I planned to take you to Anping County tomorrow or the day after. Do you remember? It’s where Uncle Chen Hu resides."

Xiao Huai’an’s eyes widened.

Anping County? Of course, he remembered! It was the place where he reunited with his mom!

But...

"Mom, why are we going to Anping County?"

Xu Jing smiled serenely and said, "Because, dear, mom has to get to work too."

Yesterday, Xiao Yi mentioned to her that the Holy Emperor had already decided for Xinglin Hall to supply medicine to the army, and the first batch of medicine they were tasked with making was for the frontline soldiers.

Of course, for such a large quantity needed so urgently, even with Xinglin Hall collaborating with the Zhou Family, it was impossible for them to produce it alone.

The quantity was secondary; the main issue was the short time frame. Wartime supplies differ from ordinary supplies; efficiency is paramount.

Therefore, Xu Jing took the initiative to offer her medicine recipes to the imperial court, proposing that both parties work together to expedite the production of these medicines.

Xu Jing’s action was extremely rare for people of this era, as rare and valuable medical formulas were considered a physician’s lifeblood, tightly kept secrets passed down through generations. The court was aware of this; even with previous collaborations with the imperial court, they never proactively inquired about the formulas of the medicines provided, nor did they force the sharing of such formulas.

Thus, when Xu Jing proposed this yesterday, Xiao Yi was quite surprised for a moment. After repeatedly confirming she wasn’t joking, he said he would report her suggestion to the Holy Emperor.

According to Xiao Yi, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the imperial edict appointing Xinglin Hall to supply medicine to the military would reach Cheng Xianbai today, and after that, they would have to start expediting the production of the medicines.

In fact, Xu Jing had already sent word to Cheng Xianbai and Zhou Qi yesterday, instructing them to quickly gather a large quantity of the medicinal materials they would need to produce the medicine.

Their current production still heavily relied on the Zhou Family’s manpower; the Zhou Family operated several workshops dedicated to medicine production, mostly distributed in or near Anping County. After Xu Jing left Anping County, Cheng Xianbai, for convenience in medicine production, converted part of his family’s land into a workshop. Later, as their income increased, they specifically rented a place in Anping County for medicine production.

Therefore, their primary production base remained in Anping County.

This batch of medicine was crucial to the frontline and allowed no errors, so Xu Jing decided to oversee the process personally.

As expected, that afternoon, Cheng Xianbai, busy in Xinglin Hall, received the imperial edict commissioning Xinglin Hall to produce medicine for the military. The first order was to produce a hundred thousand units of Detoxification and Muscle Regeneration Ointment and internal pills for traumatic injury within half a month.

This made Cheng Xianbai both happy and worried.

A hundred thousand units of medicine! Even with the help of the Zhou Family, it presented a massive challenge for them!

Fortunately, Miss Xu had foresight and had suggested stockpiling some medicine during the period of competition with Guangming Hall, which hadn’t ended yet. Consequently, they had about five thousand more of the Detoxification and Muscle Regeneration Ointment and internal pills available.

Even though this was a small part compared to the demand for a hundred thousand units, it slightly eased their burden.

Cheng Xianbai decisively prioritized supplying all store inventory to the frontline, pulling almost all workers from the Western Capital branch back to Anping County to aid in production, leaving only enough staff to maintain normal store operations.

Zhou Qi also acted quickly, halting the production of all other medicines in their workshops to fully support Xinglin Hall in rushing this batch of frontline supplies.

The next day, Xu Jing set off early with Xiao Huai’an, hurriedly returning to Anping County.

This time, although Xiao He, responsible for protecting the Capital City, didn’t accompany her, he specifically sent his deputy general with a team to escort Xu Jing to Anping County.

By noon on the third day, Xu Jing returned to the familiar courtyard in Anping County. After a brief rest, she left Shen and Qiushui, who had traveled with her, to watch over Xiao Huai’an at home, intending to visit the different workshops with Chunyang and Chunxiang to check on the medicine production.

Unexpectedly, just as they stepped out of the door, a very familiar voice called out—

"Miss Xu!"